Above: The genomes of these twin infant macaques were modified with multiple mutations.
The ability to create primates with intentional mutations could provide powerful new ways to study complex and genetically baffling brain disorders.
The use of a genome-tool to create two monkeys with specific genetic mutations.
The ability to modify targeted genes in primates is a valuable tool in the study of human diseases.
By Christina Larson
Until recently, Kunming, capital of Chinas southwestern Yunnan province, was known mostly for its palm trees, its blue skies, its laid-back vibe, and a steady stream of foreign backpackers bound for nearby mountains and scenic gorges. But Kunmings reputation as a provincial backwater is rapidly changing. On a plot of land on the outskirts of the citywilderness 10 years ago, and today home to a genomic research facilityscientists have performed a provocative experiment. They have created a pair of macaque monkeys with precise genetic mutations.
Last November, the female monkey twins, Mingming and Lingling, were born here on the sprawling research campus of Kunming Biomedical International and its affiliated Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research. The macaques had been conceived via in vitro fertilization. Then scientists used a new method of DNA engineering known as CRISPR to modify the fertilized eggs by editing three different genes, and they were implanted into a surrogate macaque mother. The twins healthy birth marked the first time that CRISPR has been used to make targeted genetic modifications in primatespotentially heralding a new era of biomedicine in which complex diseases can be modeled and studied in monkeys.
CRISPR, which was developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, and elsewhere over the last several years, is already transforming how scientists think about genetic engineering, because it allows them to make changes to the genome precisely and relatively easily (see Genome Surgery, March/April). The goal of the experiment at Kunming is to confirm that the technology can create primates with multiple mutations, explains Weizhi Ji, one of the architects of the experiment.
Ji began his career at the government-affiliated Kunming Institute of Zoology in 1982, focusing on primate reproduction. China was a very poor country back then, he recalls. We did not have enough funding for research. We just did very simple work, such as studying how to improve primate nutrition. Chinas science ambitions have since changed dramatically. The campus in Kunming boasts extensive housing for monkeys: 75 covered homes, sheltering more than 4,000 primatesmany of them energetically swinging on hanging ladders and scampering up and down wire mesh walls. Sixty trained animal keepers in blue scrubs tend to them full time.
The lab where the experiment was performed includes microinjection systems, which are microscopes pointed at a petri dish and two precision needles, controlled by levers and dials. These are used both for injecting sperm into eggs and for the gene editing, which uses guide RNAs that direct a DNA-cutting enzyme to genes. When I visited, a young lab technician was intently focused on twisting dials to line up sperm with an egg. Injecting each sperm takes only a few seconds. About nine hours later, when an embryo is still in the one-cell stage, a technician will use the same machine to inject it with the CRISPR molecular components; again, the procedure takes just a few seconds.
Follow this link:
Genome Editing
- Genetic Engineering: Ancient Feats That Started A Revolution - Part 1 - Video - January 16th, 2014 [January 16th, 2014]
- Tissue Culture & Genetic Engineering can revive Sugar industry in UP: MODI - Video - February 9th, 2014 [February 9th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Definition and More from the Free ... - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - humans, body, used, process, plants ... - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Ap genetic engineering 1 - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- 4.3c - Genetic Engineering - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering for Dummies - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- The Genetic Engineering Of The Annunaki Gods - Chris Hardy - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Biology Project - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Selective Human Breeding - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- mr i explains: The Process of Genetic Engineering (for KS4) - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- AP genetic engineering 2 - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- Trait by trait, plant scientists swiftly weed out bad seeds through marker-assisted breeding - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Vermont Senate passes GMO labeling bill - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- GMO Labeling Bill Passes Vermont Senate - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - News - Science - The New York Times - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering: What is Genetic Engineering? - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Buzzle - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - BiologyMad - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - LeaderU.com - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Greenpeace International - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Buzzle.com - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Routine blood glucose measurements can accurately estimate hemoglobin A1c in diabetes - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Tricks Could Make Bionic Ears Hear Better - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Engineered E. coli produces high levels of D-ribose as described in Industrial Biotechnology journal - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Scientists Build a Custom Chromosome - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- GEN Publishing introduces 'Clinical OMICs' digital publication - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Deciphering Nature's Alphabet - 4. Imagining the Genome - Video - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Remember the American Chestnut Tree on Arbor Day - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Webinar by Drs. Barrangon, Zhang and Church - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Cas9: A novel approach to genetic engineering - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Minn. lawmakers consider GMO label - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Overview - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Plant Engineers Sow Debate - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- GENs Top 10 Session Picks for the 2014 BIO International Convention - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- TTA14-OGM-Genetic Engineering - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and transgenic organisms - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- An overview of Genetic Engineering 2 - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Insulin - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Human Genetic Engineering Final Project - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- No to Genetic Engineering | People and Politics - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Korey Fung Ethics of Genetic Engineering Designer Babies Reproductive Revolution - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Functional crops are coming - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Minecraft- Genetic Engineering Ranch Tour - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Review - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- d27m - genetic engineering (omd cover) 2014 - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- Scientists Add New Letters to Lifes Genetic Alphabet - May 8th, 2014 [May 8th, 2014]
- Vermont governor to sign GMO labeling bill - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Intro - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- SAY NO TO GENETIC ENGINEERING ! SWINE FLU 2009 - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- New DNA cleavage technique could lead to more versatile genetic engineering - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering By Anna from Germany - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering with Nadia Ayoub - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Simplified - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- 2. Dissecting Genders- by Religion, Society and Science (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- 1. Introduction - Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam - FULL) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Research Project - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- B3 Selective Breeding and Genetic Engineering - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering 2 - Video - May 20th, 2014 [May 20th, 2014]
- Court decision keeps NZ GE-free - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- LW Genetic Engineering - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering And Cloning - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Virus that helped eradicate smallpox takes on cancer in startups dual-mechanism immunotherapy - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- College Prep English at EIE May 29, 2014 - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Student Work:Genetically Modified Organisms:ChiChi (G8) - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- 03 Genetic Engineering - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- 04 Genetic Engineering cont - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- How Genetic Engineering Can Cure Drug Addiction? Michael Crichton on Treatment (2006) - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Crowd marches against genetic engineering of food - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Scotch Moses: Genetic Engineering - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Growing The Good Seed - Video - June 2nd, 2014 [June 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and the Vedas - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Presentation - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Hawaii: Fear over GM plants and pesticides | Global 3000 - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- genetic engineering -- Encyclopedia Britannica - June 12th, 2014 [June 12th, 2014]
- A Vaccine for Heart Disease Could Mean No Pills, Lettuce or a Gym - June 14th, 2014 [June 14th, 2014]
- Quantel to Color Finish 4K 60p FIFA World Cup - June 14th, 2014 [June 14th, 2014]